Solar panels: Light or Bright?

WE LOOK at the pros and cons of the controversial panels.

An increasing number of homeowners are turning to solar energy [ALAMY]

A couple who have been married for 43 years have gone to war over the husband’s plan to erect 40,000 solar panels on a 55-acre site near their house.

Sue and Robert Young, who live at Haxted in Surrey, have fallen out after he decided to investigate the idea and undertook a public consultation exercise to gauge local opinion.

Mr Young is being advised by Southern Solar, which says it will plant hedges so the panels will not be visible from his house or the road.

The income from the panels could amount to £55,000 a year and the electricity generated could help power 3,500 homes, Southern Solar has claimed. However Mrs Young is having none of it.

She believes it will blight the area and devalue house prices. A planning application is now pending.

The case echoes that of a farm near Ashford, Kent, where egg producer Doug Wanstall is looking to install 100,000 solar panels on his land, to the dismay of local householders who have mounted a strong campaign of opposition.

Yet with the world facing huge energy shortages in the coming decades, fields of solar panels could at the moment be the best solution.

“I have no doubt that they are worthwhile and a great energy-saving feature...if only people wouldn’t put them on the roofs of their houses because they look so hideous

Richard Greener

Estate agent Jonathan Harington argues that panels in fields are at least better than wind turbines for the countryside.

“A client of mine has a 40-acre site of panels in Norfolk completely surrounded by trees and hedges, so the only way you can have seen them is from the air,” he said.

“Turbines on the same site would have been viewable from 10 miles away.” Panels on roofs also raise strong feelings and to many people are unsightly.

Richard Greener, who runs the eponymous agency in Northamptonshire, said: “I have no doubt that they are worthwhile and a great energy-saving feature...if only people wouldn’t put them on the roofs of their houses because they look so hideous.”

He reckons that panels can often be placed in the back garden out of sight.

“As the sun’s rays have travelled 93 million miles to get here, I doubt that the extra few feet makes any difference to their performance,” he said.

Panels on roofs also raise strong feelings and to many people are unsightly [ALAMY]

Estate agents also find that they can make houses more difficult to market, particularly where the owner has been offered ‘free’ panels in return for leasing his roof to a solar panel company, usually for 25 years.

“While rural properties may be devalued by panels not blending into the surroundings, a modern townhouse in the suburbs or city is a different story,” said James Hall, of London estate agent Fishneedwater.

However he cautioned people to verify who owns the panels if you buy a property with them.

“If they have been put up and are owned by a power company on a 25-year lease that may be a problem as lenders will be reluctant to lend on that basis. A legal transfer of ownership will then need to take place,” he said. He also said that solar panels, which are very heavy, can undermine a roof’s structure.

“It’s advisable to inform your insurance company of the installation in advance to avoid any complications should you need to make a claim in future,” he added.

Carol Peett of the County Homesearch Company agrees that solar panels for generating electricity can be very off-putting to buyers and advocated alternatives.

“They are ugly and there can be legal complications if these are leased from the power company rather than owned outright. Buyers are far more interested in ground source heat pumps,” she said.

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Installing panels on a heritage building without devaluing it is probably the trickiest undertaking.

Roger Hunt, co-author of Old House Eco Handbook, says you should think about your energy needs first and look at insulation, draughtproofing and installing energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances before you decide on panels.

“With old buildings the aesthetic impact of solar panels is often one of the major concerns,” he said. “It’s generally assumed they need to be in a highly visible position but this is not always the case as there may be more than one suitable location.”

“Many buildings have hidden areas, such as below parapets, or between multiple roof slopes or double-pitched roofs.”

If those options are not available, he recommends putting panels on the roof of an outbuilding or setting up a free-standing array in the garden.

“Though it is easier to have panels grouped together, they can be split and fitted on different parts of the roof, rather than in a single block,” he added.

Mr Hunt added homeowners should beware of installers who dictate the look of the panels as there are many designs on the market.